Is your value system dominated by a lust for power? (112-5)

The Bible has some examples of pure evil leaders. Their value system is such that they can justify any act to put themselves in a position of self-serving power. Read 2 Chronicles 22-23:15.

Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, the God-fearing king of Judah, had married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, the Baal worshiping, power lusting king of Israel through an arranged marriage. When Jehoram died, his son Ahaziah ruled but only for one year before he was murdered. When the Queen Mother discovered her son was dead, she saw her opportunity and grabbed power to rule Judah by killing all the male heirs that could have assumed the throne, including all her grandchildren. One infant, Joash, who later became king miraculously escaped but that is another day’s study. Athaliah’s value system was dominated by the lust for power. In The Maxwell Leadership Bible, John Maxwell discusses Pursuing Power Rather Than Love:

Some leaders step into positions of power out of love and a sense of mission. Others seek leadership merely to gain power over others and revel in a smug feeling of superiority. Normally it doesn’t take long to determine which sort of leader you’ve got.

It took no time at all to decide in the case of Athaliah.

As soon as she heard that her son, King Ahaziah, had been killed by Jehu, “she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah” (2 Chronicles 22:10) – including all her grandsons. She missed one, Joash, who escaped her murderous rampage only when a godly young woman named Jehoshabeath hid him in the house of God for six years. Athaliah did not care the slightest that God had promised His people that the Messiah would come through the royal line of David.

This is a picture of a leader so thirsty for power that she would do anything to attain and hold her illegitimate title – including murdering her own kin. Athaliah ruled over Judah for seven years. In the end, the people violently removed her from power (23:12-15).

Queen Athaliah is an extreme example of a leader motivated not by love, but by power, prestige, and position. It never takes long to spot the differences.

Proverbs 12:12 The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.